Rubin's testimony "clears" former UCK leader Hashim Thaci

A former top US diplomat testified on Monday that Hashim Thaci, the former president of Kosovo, had no effective authority over the military commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), at the start of the defense's case in his war crimes trial.

James Rubin, a former senior State Department official who was involved in peace talks between Kosovo and Serbia and the aftermath of the 1998-99 uprising against Serbian forces, described Thaci in his testimony as a “front man” for diplomacy who needed the approval of the KLA’s military leaders.

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"It was clear to me that he was not in control. He had neither the knowledge, nor the capabilities, nor the authority to make decisions," Rubin told the court.

Thaci and three other former KLA commanders have been on trial since 2023, facing charges of persecution, murder, torture and enforced disappearances during and immediately after the 1990s conflict, which ultimately led to Kosovo's independence from Serbia.

Prosecutors allege that Thaci and his co-defendants waged a violent campaign against political opponents, as well as minority Serbs and Roma, with the aim of gaining complete control of the region. Thaci and the others deny all charges.

Rubin Stressed that, in his assessment, thaci had no Control over the senior commanders of the uCK: "They gave Him Orders, not the other way around," he said.

Despite the KLA's military action, which was largely supported and guided by the United States during the Kosovo uprising, Rubin's testimony appears to "absolve" Thaci from responsibility for military choices, presenting him more as a political and diplomatic leader than a military commander. Some observers argue that this is an indirect attempt to "exonerate" the former president.

More than 13,000 people are estimated to have been killed during the conflict. Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, finally declared independence in 2008, which Belgrade does not recognize.

The Kosovo Special Court, based in the Netherlands and staffed by international judges and lawyers, was established in 2015 to try cases under Kosovar law involving former KLA fighters. It is separate from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which had dealt mainly with Serb officials for war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.